Titleist built the GT280 Mini to double as a driver and a fairway wood. It plays from a tee or off the turf, finds short grass more often than it outdrives anything, and earned the best looks in its class test.
What's new
The GT280 Mini launched in April 2025 with a 280 cc head, a Seamless Thermoform Crown and a forged L-Cup face. Titleist builds it at 13 degrees on a 43.5-inch Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue, a length that keeps it usable off the turf as well as a tee.
An 11 g rear weight and a 3 g forward weight swap places to shift the balance of the head, and the SureFit hosel adds 16 positions on top of that. It is not cheap, yet value still scores 8.5 on our class-relative scale.
How it plays
Buy it for accuracy. In a five-model 2025 mini driver test it tied for second in both accuracy and forgiveness, placed third overall, and kept 70 percent of off-turf shots playable. Our card follows suit: 8.5 for accuracy, 8.6 for forgiveness and 8.9 for workability, its highest number.
Off the tee the flight comes out like a cannon and dispersion stays tight. A robot test measured 246.1 yards of carry and a toe miss costing 5.4 yards, against 13.5 for a 3-wood, though its spread ran wider. On Trackman it carried 196 yards and was the easiest of three tested clubs to hit off the deck.
Where it lacks
Distance trails the field. It finished last of five in that 2025 mini driver test, and a 7.4 distance score sits at the bottom of its card, so anyone hoping to retire a driver should expect to give yards back.
Feel scores 7.6 because feedback turns dull on off-center hits. The head also rewards a precise strike far more than it rescues a loose one, and golfers with a scattered contact pattern will notice.
“It will not win a long-drive contest, but it finds the fairway from a tee or the turf.”- The Club Stand gear team
Reasons to buy
- Tied for second in both accuracy and forgiveness in a five-model 2025 mini driver test
- Kept 70 percent of off-turf shots playable and launches easily from the deck
- Two swappable sole weights and a 16-position SureFit hosel leave plenty of room to tune it
Reasons to think twice
- Finished last of five models for distance in the 2025 mini driver test
- Feedback goes dull on off-center strikes
- Asks for a precise strike, and not every swing delivers one
Specs
| Head | 280 cc, Seamless Thermoform Crown |
|---|---|
| Face | Forged L-Cup Face |
| Loft | 13.0 degrees |
| Lie | 56 degrees |
| Shaft | Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue standard, 43.5 inches |
| Weights | 11 g rear + 3 g forward, swappable |
| Adjustability | SureFit hosel, 16 positions |
| Best for | Players who want a driver that doubles as a fairway wood |
More drivers we've scored
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- TaylorMade Qi4D 2026 - 9.0/10. A hotter face and four heads to choose from make this the most repeatable driver of 2026.
- Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K 2025 - 9.0/10. A quiet Cobra launch that finished first in our fast-swing driver test, and longest too.
- Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond 2026 - 8.9/10. Callaway's lowest-spinning 2026 driver puts the first Tri-Force face in a 450cc head built for better players.
- Cobra OPTM Max-K 2026 - 8.9/10. Cobra's most forgiving OPTM driver adds a fixed rear weight and an exclusive 12 degree loft.
- Cobra OPTM X 2026 - 8.9/10. Cobra's all-round OPTM driver: a 460cc head and a two-weight system that tunes flight from neutral to fade.